Extensive Review on GoFundMe

GoFundMe is often what people think of when they think about a charitable effort for a friend or family member. The platform is so huge that it is likely you as the person reading this, has donated to a GoFundMe account, whether it is for a cause you stumbled upon while browsing the news or a loved one who needed a helping hand.

It is a young company who only began operating in 2010 by two entrepreneurs, and it does not operate based upon incentives. You are not required to provide your donors any sort of reward for their monies donated.

The brand itself is focused on providing charity, the bulk of the causes listed upon the site are centered upon providing money for personal use like medical expenses. The use of the platform to provide funding for such causes has been a huge reason that the site has exploded the way it did. Recently, the 5% platform fee that they charged was removed, making for a huge policy change.

Services You Get

This is a platform that provides its users the ability to ask for money from their friends and family, followers on social media, and anybody who feels the need to donate to the cause. You can fundraise for any number of reasons, some of which include: Sports, Teams, and Clubs; Missions, Faith, and Church; Community and Neighbors; Animals and Pets.

So long as you do not start money for a cause that violates GoFundMe’s forbidden projects, you can have a spot on their website. A review of the list shows that many of them are based upon needs. It should be noted that you can use GoFundMe for business and entrepreneurial crowdfunding as well. For example, one man raised $2000 to start his own repair shop for motorcycles.

Fees You Pay

The GoFundMe crowdfunding campaigns do not ask you to set a funding period. You will be asked to set a funding goal, and you can keep whatever it is you raise no matter how much or how little you end up raising. You can keep the campaign active for as long as you need. Here is a rundown of the duration and the fees:

Funding Duration-Unlimited

Platform Fee-0

Terms-you keep what you raise, don’t have to meet the goal

Processing fee is 2.9% plus 30 cents per donation

You can even surpass your funding goal, too-no need to turn away folks who might be interested in donating even after the goal is met.

GoFundMe promises donors and backers that they will not charge donors any extra fees aside from the payment processing fee. Sites that do claim to be free, they say, will charge donors exorbitant amounts like 15% and you still have to pay the 3% for processing.

GoFundMe does not charge ANYTHING to donors. Other crowdfunding alternatives, like CrowdfundingBum, also have reduced fees-no platform fees, for example. It is great for causes that do not seek personal gain but rather a charitable effect.

Campaign Varieties

More often than not, you will be starting what is known as a Personal campaign on GoFundMe. These cover a broad range of services. You might be doing anything from raising dollars for a personal cause all the way up to getting money together for a beneficiary.

The other option is doing a Certified Charity campaign. And, you set up a funding campaign for a charity of your choice. Ergo, donors get a receipt that denotes their funds as tax deductible. And the campaign organiser doesn’t even have to handle that money.

This brings up another important point. Donors should understand that their donations to a personal campaign are NOT tax deductible because GoFundMe is NOT non-profit.

Rewards

One thing to note is that you don’t have to offer rewards to your donors. But if you can, that’s even better. It will increase the chance that you get more donation to your cause. Of course, in the flurry of activity that surrounds putting one of these campaigns together, it can be tough to write up rewards and get them going for backers.

CrowdfundingBum is a gem in this regard, as they do have a team of expert writers on hand. And that will make your cause stand out from the crowd. There would be no need for you to worry about carefully writing a description that draws in backers. It is also worth noting that CrowdfundingBum has built in backers, too.

How to Apply

The method by which you set up a campaign is pretty easy. Just start by entering your campaign’s details, and then set your fundraising goal, and then provide reward levels you’d like to offer, if you wish to do so. After that, you can start your campaign and have it go live within the hour. You will need to link your social media accounts to this platform, which some may find annoying.

It actually becomes a requirement if you would like your campaign to appear in the “Public Search” area of the website-which you most certainly want. For those that do not believe in Facebook, this is problematic and may prompt the need for a crowdfundingbum alternative.

Customer Service

There is no phone number you can call to get direct support for any issues you might be having. They do have a contact form that you can use to get in touch with customer service, however. Also, they do offer support in just five minutes, a huge deal for busy fundraisers and a real value add. They do all this without a live chat, a feat we find amazing in the least.

There is also a pretty good question and answer portion of the website, which is nice for general questions. However, the terms and conditions page was sort of hard to find; we nearly had to Google it.

Summing It Up

For those seeking a campaign that has a personal touch to it, we recommend GoFundMe. If you are an artist or content creator, it is advised that you seek out another platform. Because this site focuses more upon campaigns geared toward personal causes and business ventures.

Final thoughts.

Before you go running off to gofundme, we hope you stick around a while to find out more about all that Crowdfunding Bum has to offer. You will find ample reasons to choose us as your funding source.